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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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Dramatic Health Education Project: STDs/HIV (Kansas City, MO)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens, Urban

Goal: The Coterie exists to provide professional classic and contemporary theater, which challenges the audience and artist alike, and to provide educational, dramatic outreach programs in the community. The Coterie seeks to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations. The objectives of DHEP are to improve knowledge regarding HIV and STDs and reduce the intentions of teenagers to practice high-risk behavior. DHEP also continues to refine the culturally-specific dramatic workshops and ensure story lines are relevant to teenagers.

Impact: After watching this program, over 75% of students report that they would be less likely to practice high-risk sexual behavior.

Drive Clean Across Texas (Texas)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of this program is to inspire changes in driving behavior that will help clean up the air in Texas.

DuPage Narcan Program (DuPage County, IL)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use, Urban

Goal: The goal of the program is to provide police departments, schools and others with Naloxone and proper training to save lives from heroin overdose and to provide individuals with a chance to recover.

Impact: In the first six months of the second year, 26 saves were recorded.

Enviro Board: The Colusa Project (Colusa, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The mission of Enviro Board Corporation is to become the world's leading manufacturer of low-cost, environmentally friendly building panels. These durable and architecturally versatile panels will contribute significantly to a healthier environment by recycling agricultural waste, greatly reducing pollution and preserving our natural resources, while creating the ability to construct high-quality, affordable housing worldwide utilizing unskilled labor.

Every Woman Southeast (AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health, Women, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: Every Woman Southeast's goal is to create a diverse partnership across eight Southern states to improve women's health and birth outcomes.

Family Nutrition Health Education Program (Greenwood, South Carolina)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Food Insecurity, Children, Teens, Adults, Women, Men, Older Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Rural

Goal: The objectives of the FNHE program are to reduce incidents of chronic disease and improve nutrient intake and general quality of life by:

• Access to food that meets nutritional needs
• Preparing and serving meals that are nutritious
• Managing food-related resources, including WIC and SNAP
• Access to benefits available through other community agencies and services
• Increased knowledge about physical activity

Federal Electronics Challenge (USA)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Toxins & Contaminants

Goal: The goal of the FEC is to empower federal agencies to achieve cost-effective, environmentally responsible electronics management throughout the product life cycle. This goal will be achieved in part by:
- Promoting ENERGY STAR® features.
- Extending the life span of equipment.
- Increasing the recovery rate and expanding the recycling infrastructure for electronics.
- Utilizing the concept of supply and demand to promote environmentally preferable electronic equipment.
- Reducing the volume and toxicity of electronic equipment waste.

Green and Healthy Homes through People United for Sustainable Housing (Buffalo, NY)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The mission of PUSH Buffalo is to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality, affordable housing; to expand local hiring opportunities; and to advance economic and environmental justice in Buffalo.

Growing Through Loss Program (Indianapolis)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders, Children, Urban

Goal: The goals of the program are to reduce the levels of depression and risk of destructive behaviors among grieving adolescents.

Harris County Pollution Control Ozone Monitoring (Harris County, TX)

Filed under Effective Practice, Environmental Health / Air

Goal: The goal of this program is to increase the amount of reliable air quality data that is available to the public in Harris County.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.